


Fly me to the Moon

by Myeongluvr



Category: ONEUS (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Gen, I talk about the moon a lot, Keonhee is an astronaut, No Romance, Wholesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:15:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28359936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myeongluvr/pseuds/Myeongluvr
Summary: Keonhee has always been fascinated with the story of the man on the moon. His whole life he hoped that the man was watching him, guiding him on the right path in life. Now he has the chance to visit the man and Keonhee gives it his all! With a little bit of strength , friendship, determination and most importantly hope Keonhee attempts to go to the moon.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7
Collections: Sides of the Moon stories





	Fly me to the Moon

**The moon will always follow Keonhee.** Throughout his life he always had a fascination with the moon. Every night before he would go to sleep he would beg his grandfather to read him his favourite bedtime story. The blue book pages were torn and wrinkly, but Keonhee didn’t mind. He may have heard this story a hundred times before, but every time he would hear his grandfather recite the words it felt like magic to his ears. He would sit up in his blue and white Ryan pyjamas, his eyes wide open as he listened intently. 

His grandfather would tell him about the myth of the man on the moon. It was said a young man lived there, his hair glowing yellow like the stars, his face filled with a constellation of glitter, his smile as bright as the sun. The man kept the moon spinning by feeding it positive energy from humans. Whenever a human would be sad the man would guide them on the right path, give them hope and that hope would turn into positivity that the moon fed off. 

Keonhee was obsessed with this man, he saw him like a superhero looking after humans. The small boy smiled brightly as he looked at the moon through his bedroom window. Maybe the man on the moon could see his wide smile, maybe he would compliment it like the dentist would or his school teacher.

 _“Fly me to the moon, take me to the moon. When that moon brightly shines on me, I’ll soar up to look for you, fly with us”_ Keonhee’s grandad closed the book after reading out the last line, he saw how bright his grandsons face was as he clutched onto his arm.

“Pa, can he see me?” Keonhee swung his head around to face his Grandfather. He smiled at his 6 year old grandson with a content heart. His smile was wide and it made him feel young again.

“Of course he can my little Keonhee, He’s so proud of you” Keonhee felt his grandfather pat his head, his hand caressing his hair and tucking it nicely behind his ear. Keonhee couldn’t stop smiling at the compliment. He clapped his hands together as he snuggled closer into his bed, waiting for his grandfather to tuck him in. 

Keonhee would drift off to sleep dreaming of the moon and the man. His grandfather left a moon lamp on as he left the little boy sleeping in the darkness of the room.

When the time came for Keonhee to take tests in school he would always talk to the man in the moon. His sister thought he was crazy , teasing him for believing an old folk tale but Keonhee didn’t care about what she thought. He knew the man on the moon was there watching over him and he gave Keonhee the hope he needed to keep his motivation up. 

Even to this day Keonhee would still wave at the moon, hoping maybe the man would see him and wave back. He was now a 21 year old navigating life and he needed a little more hope as an adult that he did as a child, but he was happy. As long as he had the man on the moon with him, anything was possible. After all these years he had never lost hope in the folktale, every night he would look up at the moon, his old story book in his hands. He wished that the man was doing well , eating enough , not too lonely. He often thought if the man had friends , maybe there were moon babies being raised to do the job. It sounded like a lot of work for one man. Keonhee never stopped thinking about the mysterious man , he never grew bored. 

As the lights filled the streets , Keonhee strolled home from his job. His suit was way making him feel like someone important as he walked past all the nightlife of Busan. He passed all the bars, listening to the music blasting from them. He couldn’t help bounce in his step to the beat as he made his way towards his apartment. Ever since moving to the city alone, he had made the most of his own company. He learned to enjoy the little burst of happiness he got from listening to the music of the streets, how the breeze hits the back of his neck giving him chills that made him feel alive , the shop windows that would display goods in the most aesthetic manner. Keonhee especially loved the Ryan display in the kakao store that was conveniently placed on his route to work. 

Grabbing the keys out of his jacket pocket Keonhee opened his door, taking in the warmth of his apartment. He carefully slipped his shoes off , his arms the perfect length to knock the light switch on without having to balance so he doesn’t stumble. Keonhee hung up his sherlock jacket, a gift from his sister to make him fit more in with the people of Busan. He wore this jacket everywhere, the way it kept him warm reminded him of a warm hug. Keonhee made his way into the kitchen, grabbing a pot of instant noodles out of the cupboard before going to fill the kettle. He could hear his stomach growling at him as he placed the kettle down, waiting for the water to boil. Moving his head he looked at the space training brochure on his bulletin board, He was so close to the goal for his trip to America to be able to enter the space program. He had spent his whole life learning about space, wishing to one day make it there. He made sure to ask the man on the moon every night for a little bit of hope that he would be able to make it in. His dream of meeting his hero had  
to come true, he knew it would because he had hope.

The kettle whistled alerting it was done boiling and Keonhee snapped out of his daydream. He turned around and poured the water into his noodle cup and took it with him to his room, ready to binge watch the last few episodes of his kdrama before sleeping. 

\-----

The next day as Keonhee was on his way home from work he decided to visit the corner shop. He had some spare change in his pocket and he decided to buy himself a nice snack. As he looked down the snack aisle, it was pretty bare from the school children raiding it an hour before him. Keonhee was about to walk out when a scratch card caught his eye. He had nothing to lose so he decided to buy it.

Keonhee brought his items towards the till where a short blonde cashier was fiddling with a rubix cube. They started scanning the items, their hands moving quicker than Keonhee could process. The cashier had badges filled on their jacket. however there was one that caught Keonhee’s eye 

“How are you today Yeo Hwanwoong, They/them?” Keonhee reads outloud the badge pinned to the cashier's green jacket. The blonde sighs as they finishes scanning the last item.

“Yes, They’re my pronouns. I can’t even tell you how many times people have been giggling saying he’s so cute. I’m glad for the compliment but respect my pronouns you know?” Keonhee nods at the cashier's speech, he feels motivated with the confidence the blonde cashier gives off. 

“You got to have a bit of hope, not everyone understands but the ones that do make my day” Hwanwoong hands Keonhee his shopping, tucking the scratch card neatly in his receipt.

“Thank you. They’re a great bag packer you know!” Keonhee tells the old lady who just walked in before he smiles at the cashier as he walks out. He watches as they pick the rubix cube back up, their tongue poking out as they try to solve it once again. 

Keonhee takes a seat on the bench outside and grabs the scratch card. He hopes he has a chance of winning something. If he could just have a little more money he could go to America and fulfill his dream. He scratches off the first row to see three gold bars. His eyes light up and he keeps going to reveal all of the 9 gold bars. He won the jackpot !

“I won!” Keonhee comes running in. His scratch card in his hand as he waves it around.

“They gave me a winning scratch card! You made my day, look I won!” Keonhee runs up to the cashier whose jaw is dropped. 

“No way! I always thought these were a fix” The cashier checks Keonhee’s scratch card. They confirm he won before he dug through the till to get the money.

“What are you going to spend the money on?” The cashier asks as they count the money.

“I’m going to go to the moon” Keonhee smiles, his head filled with endless ideas that could now become a reality. 

“Ah well good luck?” The cashier hands the money to Keonhee unsure how realistic his dream is. Keonhee thanks them before rushing home, ready to count all his money. With this he should be able to reach his goal of getting to America and joining the space crew. 

\---

“One small step for man, One giant leap for mankind” 

Maybe Keonhee was over exaggerating but American soil felt a lot different from Korean. He dragged his suitcase around the airport, trying to find the exit. All the different doors all looked the same. The mass of people running around didn’t help Keonhee’s anxiety, his heart was racing seeing everyone rush from one place to the next. Was he supposed to be running too? Where does he even run to? 

He clutched onto the suitcase and hoped for the best. Buses run all the time, he can wait if he needs to. There was no rush. Keonhee let his feet take him, hoping he’d make it out alive and not trampled on by the stampede of people. He walked towards where the majority of people were heading, sure that it would lead him somewhere. The halls all looked the same, the white tunnels just making the airport an endless maze. Luck really was on his side as he could see the glow of the sky from the big glass windows, the sunlight made his eyes sting a little. It was much stronger than back home. He should have kept his sunglasses on hand. As he headed outside he saw a grey bus decorated in all space stickers. It was very tourist-like and Keonhee knew that’s the bus he needed to get to where he needed to go.

“Name?” An American man with a clipboard looked at Keonhee with an intimidating gaze. Keonhee had never felt small in his life but in this moment he felt miniature.

“Lee Keonhee” 

“Okay you can go in Lee” The man crossed out Keonhee’s name 

“It’s actually Keonhee” Keonhee’s words came out more like a whisper

“Con Di? What was it again?” The man couldn’t say his name as he took Keonhee’s suitcase from his arm.

“My name’s Sebastian” Keonhee corrected him. He had never used his English name before, the name was foreign to his lips.

“What’s with you kids and having a million names?” The man sighed, he moved out the way for Keonhee to get on the bus. Keeping his head down as he went to find a seat, Keonhee could feel his nerves fill him. Everyone on the bus was immersed in discussion, a lot talking about how it’s their first time in America. Keonhee wasn’t a shy person so he joined in chatting to the Ukrainian boy and Italian girl sitting in front of him. They all explained the same struggle of finding the way out of the airport. 

“My sister likes BTS, do you know BTS?” the Ukraine boy asks Keonhee. Keonhee nods, knowing he’d get the BTS question sooner or later. 

“Your skin is so smooth, I'm envious,” The Italian girl giggled.

“This is Aleksander” The girl pointed at the boy sitting next to her.

“Just call me Alek” Alek butted in, making sure to squish his head through the gap, letting the seats squeeze his cheeks.

“I’m Bella!” 

“I’m Keonhee, It’s nice to meet you both” Keonhee smiled brightly as he high-fived Bella and patted Alek’s head laughing while doing so.

“Okay everyone, listen up! Welcome to NASA’s space recruit training! This will be hard and you will struggle but you’ll get to go to the moon if you complete all of the training with exceptional scores. Good luck cadets!” An American woman spoke, she had bright pink hair that made her hard to miss in the crowd. The bus quietened down as she spoke about the training process and how hard it would be. Keonhee had hope he could do it, he was going to give it all and dream of meeting the man on the moon. 

The bus drove off and the excitement in the air can be felt throughout the bus. Keonhee was making good friends with Alek. They talked about how excited they were for American food, especially hot dogs. Keonhee learned that Alek will miss his mother's Borscht. Keonhee on the other hand will miss the tteokbokki he got from the street stall outside his workplace. He could already feel the change and he hadn’t even been in the country for 2 hours yet. Keonhee’s eyes caught the eyes of the man from earlier, his glare was intimidating and Keonhee shrunk down in his seat.

“He’s not that scary” Alek laughed out

“Huh?” Keonhee turned his head to face Alek again. 

“I tried out 2 years ago, I’m surprised he’s still here. He seems tough and scary but talk to him about his kids and he’ll turn into the softest human ever” Keonhee smiled, feeling reassured. Maybe he shouldn’t be so quick to judge. Keonhee went back to look at the photos Alek was showing him of his hometown. The architecture was beautiful and vastly different from Busan. 

The bus drove up to this huge white building. It looked like something out of a movie. Keonhee couldn’t believe it was real. The front was all glass and had white balconies that stuck out in an asymmetrical pattern. It was tall and futuristic, this must be where they’re staying.

“Welcome to the training center, this is where you will live, work and spend the next 6 months. Not everyone will stay here for that long so keep on your toes. You may choose your roommates but I will not tolerate bickering, you’re not at a space camp this is serious business. Collect your keys from Greg once you have a roommate.” The pink haired girl spoke through a megaphone, Keonhee could have sworn his eardrums would burst from the loudness. He felt Alek grab his hand from in front of him.

“With me Lee?” Alek smiled at Keonhee. Keonhee nodded happy he had successfully made a friend. 

“Sebastian and Aleksander, Room 107” Greg handed Keonhee a keycard. His face seemed cold but Keonhee remembered about what Alek told him earlier and smiled at Greg without fearing he’d get his head chopped off. 

Their room was just what a space room would seem like. It embodied what a bedroom in a spaceship would look like. The room was smaller, about the size of Keonhee’s bathroom in his flat. There were metal pipes hanging from the ceiling and one small window that looked out into a black screen. A door led out to a balcony, reminding them that they were in fact on earth.

“Space” Alek laughed as he sat on the bed. It was built into the wall like a pod.  
“Definitely not as cool as last time, is this LED lining woah” Alek was flicking switches as Keonhee laughed when the lights would glow from blue to red back to green. 

Alek pulled out his phone and facetimes someone as Keonhee was taking his time looking around the small room. It really felt like he was in space and his stomach was twisting in excitement. All the decoration really added a magical touch. 

“Hey Yaroslava , this dude knows BTS '' Alek shoved a phone in Keonhee’s face that showed a girl around his age staring right back at him. He gulped before speaking up

“I don’t know them personally, I’ve only seen them in a café a few times” Keonhee tries to explain but Alek was admitted that Keonhee somehow was best friends with Jungkook. 

Keonhee tries to escape Alek and his camera by locking himself in the bathroom. Once he’s in he lets out a sigh before sitting on the toilet seat and taking in the fact he’s already here. The homesickness starts to fill him as he realises how far away he is. He looks up to see a painting of a moon hanging above the towel rack. The familiar sight calms his nerves and makes him feel as if he has something to lean on. He doesn’t have much time to breathe before he hears the familiar voice of the pink haired lady announce on a speaker that they all need to change into the outfits provided and be at the entrance of the hall in 15 minutes. 

“Shut up I will make it this time, I’ll be the one laughing when I’m on the moon and your stuck on stupid Earth. I'm hanging up on you now” Alek bickers with his sister before he hangs up the phone, throwing it on his bed with a smile.

“Keonhee! There you are, did you hear the announcement?” Keonhee nods as he grabs the blue polo shirt on his bed and switches it with the one he’s currently wearing.

“This is actually real I can’t believe it, except we have to find the hall first though” Keonhee giggles as he inspects all the pockets the trousers have. He counted 7 but he was sure there was more.

“I know where the hall is so don’t worry about getting lost, just stick with me” Alek pats Keonhee’s back maybe a little harder than he should have. Keonhee follows him out the door and towards the hall. He gets there in no time seeing everyone else in their uniforms. The pink haired lady is there but she’s with another woman, who looks a lot more stricter.

“Cadets, in line facing North West” The pink lady shouts out, Keonhee follows everyone into a line, his heart is racing with excitement.

“This is Christinia Koch, she is an astronaut and will be in charge of training you” The stricter looking woman steps forward. 

“You are all here for a reason, work hard and have hope in yourself to achieve your dreams” Christiania went on a speech about how to be successful in training. Keonhee listened and took as much of it as he could. After she was done all the trainees were taken into the hall and were going to be put up for the tests. 

Keonhee followed Alek lead, the boy obviously knew what he was doing. The hall was filled with high tech equipment that was pretty intimidating to look at but Alek was true to his words and showed Keonhee the ropes. Soon enough everyone was busy doing different tasks testing their strength, agility, team work, problem solving and patience.

\----

The pink lady was right, the training was hard. Keonhee had watched his fellow cadets give up and leave, a few were also cut when they couldn’t complete certain tasks. It was down to the last 8 now and he was still going strong. Keonhee was exhausted from the harsh training but every night he would talk to the moon, hoping the man on the moon was listening to his pleas in return for hope that he could do it.

“Keonhee it’s 4am what are you doing?” Alek walked out to the balcony as he saw Keonhee leaning against the railing. Keonhee had managed to keep his visits outside a secret from everyone all this time in fear they would judge him but Alek’s reassuring face warmed Keonhee’s heart, letting him open up.

“Just talking to the man on the moon” Keonhee pointed at the moon. Alek chuckled.

“You’re too cute. Go and get some rest you need it” 

“I guess so” Keonhee stretched out his arms as he yawned and followed Alek back in. He fell asleep as soon as he hit the pillow, the tiredness consuming him. 

The next day was another physically hard one and Keonhee was so close to snapping. They had to run on the treadmill next and Keonhee’s legs could barely keep him up. 

“Lee run faster!” The instructor yelled out. Keonhee held back his frustration as he tried to move faster and faster and faster, maybe a bit too fast but he couldn’t show weakness, he had to do it. He ignored his body screaming at him to stop and kept running as if he had no other option. 

“Sir he’s going faint!” Alek calls out running over just in time to catch Keonhee as he falls back.

Alek carefully placed Keonhee on the floor before they were all told to head back to their rooms. 

Keonhee felt his whole life flash before him, like this was the end of everything. He had just failed a task and he was going to be cut from the program. He let the tears fall as he laid on the floor. Keonhee could hear footsteps walk towards him but he couldn’t see through his tears.

“Keonhee uh don’t cry I’ll get you some water” Greg rushed to grab a water bottle from the vending machine. 

“Thank you Greg” Keonhee whipped his tears as he sat up. 

“I’m going to be sent home now aren’t I?” Keonhee grabbed the water and gulped it down.

“Hey have some hope kiddo, they like you so it’s not completely over yet” Greg smiled at Keonhee for the first time since they met. 

“Really?”

“Everyone has these moments, how can you succeed if you don’t fail at least once. Even the great Neil Armstrong failed at things. Don’t lose all your hope on one little mistake”

Keonhee wipes his tears one last time before pulling Greg into one of the most awkward hugs of his life.

“You’re squishing me too much” Greg complains but Keonhee keeps holding on.

“Lee Keonhee to the main office immediately” The speaker calls out to Gregs rescue.

“Good luck kid!” Greg calls out as he watches Keonhee walk out.

The walk to the office is nerve wrecking and Keonhee feels his head is about to explode. He has hope that he can make it, he came this far.

“Take a seat” Christina tells him. Keonhee takes a seat opposite her.

“I heard about your accident, How are you?”

“I’m feeling much better now, I just overdid it” Keonhee tries to keep as calm as possible but he is struggling to keep his composure as he knows he could get kicked out. His lip wobbles and his hand can’t stop trembling. 

“That’s great to hear. I can tell you're worried but please don’t, we won’t kick you out Keonhee you’re a great asset to the team. Your so close to the last exam focus on that, please don’t worry”

“Thank you so much Christina, Thank you!” Keonhee almost screams in excitement.

“Now go and revise for the last exam, good luck” 

“Thank you!” Keonhee shakes her hand with a big grin before he heads back to his room to revise with Alek. 

Alek looks up from his bed as he sees Keonhee walk in.

“You’re alive!”

“I wasn’t going to leave you like that” Keonhee giggles as he jumps into his bed.

“Tomorrow we’re both going to ace this test!” Keonhee opens his books and starts reading. He doesn’t sleep a wink that night to focus on achieving his goal. He made sure to send a message to the man on the moon when he had a small snack break. He hoped the man could hear him between his munches of his sandwich. That morning as he walks to the exam hall he still reads his notes, trying to cram as much information in as possible.

“I’m going to make it to the moon with you Alek!” Keonhee takes a deep breath before walking into the exam room. 

He takes a seat, the adrenaline filling him as he watches the clock.

“You may begin”

Keonhee sweats as he writes out his answers. All of his knowledge is put to the test from electricals to physics. He tries his best hoping that it’s enough. Each second that passes feels too short, as he scrambles all of his knowledge through his brain.

“Time is up, pens down”

Keonhee closes the booklet and lets out a heavy sigh.

\----

The speaker calls out the last three names of the 6 successful cadets

“Gwen Davies representing Wales, congratulations”

“Aleksander Shevchenko representing Ukraine, congratulations”

“Lee Keonhee representing South Korea , congratulations”

“Congratulations to our new astronauts who will be heading to the moon. You all worked so hard and showed true dedication” The speaker continues as the crowd cheers at the successful candidates. Keonhee feels Alek squeeze his hand, both of them smiling widely.

“We made it” Keonhee whispered as he felt his heart swelling with proudness. His eyes flicker to the moon shining through the open glass celling. He knows that the man on the moon helped him, he gave him hope and that hope gave Keonhee the strength and dedication to keep going through the last 6 months. Now is his time to meet the man, thank him for everything. He thinks about how proud little 6 year old Keonhee would be. He would be overjoyed knowing he was about to go to the moon, the pictures from his favourite book turning into reality. 

The astronauts head towards the spaceship, their spacesuits feeling heavy on their bodies. The feeling is indescribable and all Keonhee feels is immense happiness. The past 6 months led to this moment, he had made it. 

Back in South Korea ,Hwanwoong watches the space launch through their phone. They remember Keonhee so well and the big smile he wore when winning the money. Hwanwoong barely knew the boy yet they felt so proud of him. To think they thought Keonhee was kidding when he said he’d go to the moon. Hwanwoong opened a bag of peanuts, eating them impatiently as they watched the livestream from Cape Canaveral. 

Keonhee sits in the cockpit of the spaceship, his hand on the control panel. He closes his eyes and whispers a little phrase in hopes it’ll bring luck to the journey.

_“Fly me to the moon, take me to the moon. When that moon brightly shines on me, I’ll soar up to look for you, fly with us”_

Keonhee presses a few buttons and he feels the rockets turn on.

“Houston we have lift off”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this story! I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Here's my [twitter!](https://twitter.com/stanweus?s=09)


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